Sketchfest

Festival Highlights

Get ready for Sketchfest, and we’re not talking about some creepy dude on the N-Judah. Starting January 13th, the 10th Annual SF Sketchfest kicks off a three-week celebration of comedy. The slew of panels, discussions, film events, special tributes, improv, and standup is your chance to hang with revered comic veterans and today’s hit jokesters alike. Tickets range from $15 to $60. Check out some of the highlights:

January 20th: 25th Anniversary Tribute to It’s Garry Shandling’s ShowCastro TheatreAn evening with Garry himself in conversation with show co-creator Alan Zweibel and moderator Zach Braff. This is the tribute to Garry’s show, the tribute to Garry’s show…

January 20th: Rifftrax presents Night of the ShortsCastro TheatreMST3K’s Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy (aka Tom Servo, the most lovable repurposed gumball machine we can think of) will be joined by Paul F. Tompkins, Mythbusters’ Adam Savage, and Comedians of Comedy’s Maria Bamford to lend their own soundtrack to vintage PSAs, instructional and safety videos, and more.

January 30th: “Inside Joke: Saturday Night Live: The Originals”Marines’ Memorial TheatreHearken back to the fledgling years of SNL with Dan Aykroyd and Laraine Newman — two of the original “Not Ready For Prime Time Players” — and writers Tom Davis and Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci).

January 31st: Airplane! Tribute to Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry ZuckerCastro TheatreFeaturing a special appearance by Robert Hays (Ted Striker). Surely, a must-see.

February 1st: James L. Brooks in conversation: The SF Sketchfest Comedy Writing AwardCastro TheatreThe Simpsons writer and 19-time Emmy Award winner James L. Brooks is the third recipient of this award; past recipients include John Hodgman and Robert Smigel (aka Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog).

February 5th: Closing night event: Idol Worship: An Evening with Cloris LeachmanCastro TheatrePeaches Christ and Midnight Mass will host a salute to eight-time Primetime Emmy Award winner Cloris Leachman. The night will also include a special screening of Mel Brooks’ Hitchcock send-up High Anxiety, as well as “musical numbers and dancing drag queens.”